Acquainted

Brandon went to see that stroke of luck that was bestowed upon him and had Carseain distracted.

" Good work shooing the barking dogs away."

Carseain told Brandon as he saw him coming over.

" Uh... I thought you'd be cursing me for letting them go." He said awkwardly.

" If I really wanted to kill him, I'd never have undone the Lavender Cage."

" I see..."

" Well, I'll wait till the bridge's done..."

Brandon : ' This little shit, he knew and yet he did all that. I had 10 years shaved off my lifespan!'

Chris : ' No wonder Sir Rovenin was so confident....'

Brandon shook his head and let it go.

" Anyway, what happened here? "

Rishi who was resting on the ground told him.

" Emel's internal injury which was not completely healed acted up in the fray."

Chris : ' It didn't act up but you made it act up.'

________________________________

At that time when Carseain was preparing the display, Emel hit himself on one side of his abdomen with the back of his sword away from the eyes of onlookers. It was around the place where he was already injured.

Chris : " Are you crazy?"

Emel : " I can do this much at least for healing us. I know how precious healers are, even among nobility. Some would not even agree to heal Rishi even if I had the money. (as he was a slave)"

He said smiling.

Chris : "That still doesn't guarantee anything."

Emel hit himself once more.

" I think it does."

" How?!!"

" It seems like the Young Lord of Esselgarde prioritizes safety over letting out his anger. You see, the first thing he did when he came here was having Rishi healed rather than messing with them."

" That's baseless and too vague to be substantial." Chris shrieked.

" Well, I'll leave the rest to my hunch."

Saying that, he hit himself once more secretly.

____________________________

Carseain : " Hey, Chrissy. You seriously can't heal him?"

Chris : " I don't know where it exactly is. So, I'm having a hard time healing it and I don't have enough magic to pull off a full body heal."

Carseain sighed as he carefully observed Emel.

" Hmm....It does seem tricky. Must hurt like hell."

Chris : " Huh? You can figure it out?"

Carseain : " Ah...not really, I am just telling by looking at his magic flow."

Emel : ' I'm glad I hurt myself for real and didn't just act. I'd be beheaded for duping a noble.'

He thought helplessly.

Carseain : " I sensed it getting distorted gradually with time. It must feel like shit."

He said emphatically.

Emel : ' He sensed it from that far. Moreover, while using magic himself. Geez, ain't that unfair to be so talented?'

Carseain threw a glass vial towards him from his shirt. Emel caught it.

" I- Is this a potion? "

" Yeah, it numbs the pain for 5 hours. It'll at least get you to a doctor and through exam comfortably."

Brandon was a little puzzled. " Umm...why do you have that?"

" Well, a certain someone told me that it's not safe. So, just in case I get attacked or get hurt."

" Uh, no. I got that. I'm asking why a potion to numb pain?"

" Because, I'll be able to move more easily and get rid of enemies faster..."

Brandon had folds on his forehead.

" No no no...That's not the point. Won't people normally carry a healing potion instead? Isn't that more logical?"

.....

There was a brief moment of silence.

" As expected of someone who wears glasses, you're smart."

" Ah, what a heavy stereotype. Plus, it's common sense. You don't need to be particularly smart to know that."

Carseain laughed.

"Is that so? All I was thinking about was how to get back on my enemies more swiftly and get back home before the potion wears off. Ain't that fun? Hahahaha "

Brandon narrowed his eyes looking at that foreign creature.

' He's treating a possible assassination or kidnapping incident like a limited time game.'

The warning Bell for the examination rang. Everyone was hurriedly returning to their respective blocks. The crowd started dissipating.

" Oh, time's up, huh?"

Carseain mumbled.

" Hey, drink that and see you after the exams are done. I still have a few questions to ask."

Carseain said looking at Emel. He nodded blankly as he saw Carseain leaving.

______________

A collective sigh of relief came out instinctively as soon as he went out of sight. Brandon, Chirs , Emel,Rishi and a few others were the only ones left there. The air was a little awkward as it was their first time meeting but they felt a sense of camaraderie having overturned a trifle wrangle with great consequences.

" This is the first time I'm happy hearing the warning bell for an exam." Emel broke the ice.

" The feeling is shared." Chris replied.

" Student Brandon and Rishi are looking at you with a little confusion."

A guy remarked.

" Tsk...Tsk… It's not like those scholars would understand the struggles of a normal student." Chris scoffed.

Brandon : " Yeah, whatever…" He shrugged.

Brandon saw the full bottle potion in Emel's trembling hands.

" Why aren't you drinking it?" He enquired.

" Uh...um… That … I was wondering if it's okay for me to accept it so easily…

I mean, even though it's an anesthetic , it would still cost a lot…"

He murmured that they could barely hear it.

Chris : " It's fine. I'm sure he didn't put much thought into it when he tossed it over."

Rishi : " Why are you getting rattled all of a sudden? You put so much faith in him when you hit your wound open…"

" Ah...Don't tell me you're planning on selling it?!"

" I'm sure it'll be worth a few gold."

The others speculated.

" Ugh...Seriously? I'm not that sort of person, you rascals. I'm just wondering if it had some sort of motive…." He said as he looked at the bottle.

" No way…" Chris said assuredly. "If he wanted something from you, he'd take straight up without asking…"

Emel : " Hahaha...It does seem like something he'd definitely do."

Rishi : " Ah...but he didn't seem the type to show such kindness. Although, I shouldn't be saying that when he's the one who saved me.."

He said as he hunched his back facing down.

" Ah...not really. I saw him personally get water for the others on training grounds but no one really notices him…" A girl said.

" Oh, I've seen helping his sparring mates up after the match sometimes but I wonder if that counts… The other party always felt offended." Another added.

Rishi : " Umm...Why?"

" Ugh… That's because he always screams "You're weak...You're slow…" and a bunch of other insults, taunts and provocations throughout the match…."

Rishi : " Now that I think about it, I've seen it too...He was quite loud and his laugh was emanating arrogance or should I say ' the despairing difference in abilities' to be more accurate… But today he felt completely different."

Chris smiled.

" You see, Carseain lives only in two modes. The rampage mode or the quiet mode. The one you saw today was the 'normal human' mode that appears every once in a blue moon."

Rishi made an awkward smile. " Is- is that so? "

" Yeah, in the quiet mode you can talk to him if you're immune to his 'all time I'll fuc**** murder you' face and don't annoy him." Chris added.

" Oh, I know. When he trains at the academy, he does seem unapproachable but never turns down a sparring offer no matter who it is." Emel said, excited.

" How do you know that?" One of his friends asked with a sceptical face.

" Because he's the moron who always asks for a spar…" The girl retorted.

This was exactly the reason why Carseain called Emel as 'James Jr'. The tendency of relentlessly asking for a worthwhile spar was similar to James and the tenacity was also commendable. Carseain would often wait for Emel to ask for a spar before leaving as he enjoyed the company of someone who loved the sword despite the overwhelming gap in abilities.

Brandon : " Chris, do you know that you're actually making yourself look like fool by considering your knowledge about Carseain as an achievement."

" I am not and I do not feel any sense of achievement in that."

" Then please wipe off that proud look on your face."

" What?!"

Chris started pressing his cheeks with his fingers as he sulked.

Brandon : " Um, you're Emel, right?"

" Uh.. yeah."

" Well, I don't think there'll be anything that can bring harm with that potion. I understand you'd be wary of nobles given what happened but Carseain…. Um … He's not your everyday noble… I mean...He's.."

Emel felt pity for Brandon who was trying to depict Carseain as a noble without being able to pick out any noble-like quality from him.

" I get it. So, you don't have to push yourself any further."

" Ahem...So further, I wanted to ask if you have any idea of what Carseain might want to ask you. I mean if there's anything he wants…."

" No idea…"

Emel shook his head.

Rishi : "Ah... Didn't he ask if you were free after exams? If I remember correctly, he wanted to spar with you…"

Emel : " Wasn't that just a cover? It was the first time he ever asked me for a spar…"

Brandon : " Nah, that's quite possible that he wants to spar against you…"

He said as he looked at Chris with dead eyes who completely replicated the same look.

Brandon : " I think we know why he did that… You should go, you'll learn a lot…"

" Huh?!"

Chris : " If you're worried about injuries, I can be of help. It'll be good practice for me too…"

Emel : " No wait… Can anyone tell me why this is happening to me ?"

Brandon sighed.

" To put it in simple words, you're way too similar to 'HER' "